Want You Dead

Roy Grace #10

by Peter James

An obsessive psychopath must be stopped whilst Detective Superintendent Roy Grace also deals with a very personal mystery in Want You Dead , by award winning crime writer Peter James.

Grace’s wife Sandy is officially declared dead after being missing for a decade, allowing him to marry the mother of his baby son. But Sandy’s disappearance is unexplained for a reason.

Bryce Laurent doesn’t want his ex-girlfriend to move on. Terrified by Bryce’s dark side, she seeks police protection. But Bryce will not be stopped, determined to destroy everything and everyone she has ever known and loved – and then her too . . .

Although the Roy Grace novels can be read in any order, Want You Dead is the tenth thrilling title in the bestselling series. Enjoy more of the Brighton detective’s investigations with You Are Dead and Love You Dead .

Now a major BRITBOX series, Grace , starring John Simm.

Genres: Crime, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook, British Literature, Mystery Thriller

528 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2014

About the author

Peter James is a global bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. With a total of 21 Sunday Times No. 1s under his belt, he has achieved global book sales of over 23 million copies to date and has been translated into 38 languages.

Synonymous with plot-twisting page-turners, Peter has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career – which also included stints writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons for which he was an Executive Producer. Many of Peter’s novels have been adapted for film, TV and stage.

Reviews

[Andrew Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll make a couple of things clear from the start:

1. My one-star review reflects the fact that I didn't finish this book - it's my standard award for non-completions.
2. I've followed - and enjoyed - the Roy Grace series from the start and have thoroughly enjoyed most of the books.

So what happened this time? A few things transpired to make this a less than rewarding experience.

Firstly, I'd already started to tire of the series. It happens. The books had started to feel too similar, with the some bland characters (some of whom have irritated me for some time - e.g. Norman Potter and Bella Moy) and storylines that felt mundane and unchallenging. This was off-set for a while by the recurring secondary storyline of Roy Grace's missing wife. But even this has petered out into a routine soap opera that never seems to reach a conclusion. So I think I knew from the start it was a mistake to attempt one more episode.

Secondly, the narration of the audio version I purchased was at best average - but that's probably being too kind. Maybe the reader was trying to inject some excitement into a dull story, but it came across as him simply trying too hard. I just didn't like it.

Thirdly, and probably most importantly, this felt like the weakest storyline so far. An ex-boyfriend becomes obsessed with a girl who ditched him for being a violent liar. Predictably, he wants revenge and becomes the stalker from hell. Oh, and he earns a few bob on the side through his sleight of hand magician shows and seems to be able to pull off the most unlikely tricks on his victim. Dull, dull, dull.

I'm sorry, Peter, it was good for a while but all good things come to an end.

[Eline Van Der Meulen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book in the Roy Grace series, but not my favourite. Ik missed the search of an unknown subject.
Dutch review: https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2022...

[Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while) · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCERPT: Bryce, in his flat across the alleyway, watched her on the monitor showing images from the pinhole camera he had concealed in one of the bolts securing the bathroom mirror to the wall. He was grinning.

Nice to see her naked. Nice to see her truly afraid. He watched her step out into the hallway, looking right, then left, vanity mirror held high. He watched her, with deep satisfaction, check every inch of the flat again, flinging open the doors of every room, every cupboard, then finally picking up the phone and dialling.

He knew exactly who she would be calling, and he was right.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: IF HE CAN'T HAVE HER, THEN NOBODY CAN . . .

Virtual romance becomes a terrifying obsession in Want You Dead . . .

Single girl, 33, redhead and smouldering, love life that’s crashed and burned. Seeks new flame to rekindle her fire. Fun, friendship and—who knows—more maybe?

In Peter James' Want You Dead, thirty-year old Red Cameron meets handsome, charming and rich thirty-five year old Bryce Laurent through an online dating agency, and is instantly attracted to him. But as their love blossoms, the truth about his past begins to emerge, and with it his dark side. Everything he has told Red about himself turns out to be a tissue of lies, and her infatuation with him gradually turns to terror.

Within a year, and under police protection, she evicts him from her flat and her life. But far from being over, her nightmare is only just beginning. For Bryce is obsessed and besotted with her. He intends to destroy, by fire, everything and everyone she has ever known and loved—and then her, too. It's up to Detective Superintendent Roy Grace to stop him before it's too late...

MY THOUGHTS: I loved this book, and simply bounded through it, devouring it.

The Roy Grace series is one that just keeps getting better and better, and one that I hope won't end any time soon.

THE AUTHOR: Peter James is a UK No. 1 bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. With a total of 13 Sunday Times No. 1s under his belt, he has achieved global book sales of over 19 million copies to date, and has been translated into 37 languages.

Synonymous with plot-twisting page-turners, Peter has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career – which also included stints writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons for which he was an Executive Producer. Many of Peter’s novels have been adapted for film, TV and stage.

DISCLOSURE: I own my copy of Want You Dead by Peter James, published by Pan MacMillan. All opinions expressed in this review are my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my profile page on Goodreads.com or the about page on my webpage, sandysbookaday/wordpess.com This review and others also appear on my webpage.

[Best Crime Books & More · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is going on with this series? I need to clarify that I have read every one of the Roy Grace series and have loved them all (Dead Simple book 1 being my all time favourite). However a few things have been going on that have narked me, one of them being the ongoing saga of Roy Grace’s missing/presumed dead wife Sandy. More of that later, but in the meantime I was brimming with excitement at having this latest release nearly 2 months early. I immediately got stuck in and as usual the story took me away to that dark and murky corner of my mind which enjoys reading about other people’s misery. For those of you that maybe haven’t read any of these books I suggest you stop reading my review as it will inevitably contain spoilers if you are not up to date with the series. We are up to book 10 in the series and Roy Grace is on the verge of getting married to Cleo and they have a young baby son. In addition to Roy we see the other characters that us readers have grown to love such as Glenn Branson and Norman Potting return.

We meet the lead in this current story Red Westwood (GREAT character name dontcha’ think) as she is recovering from her past disastrous relationship. Bryce Laurent is the man responsible for ruining her life a year earlier and she had no idea that in the short space of time she knew him he would turn out to be so toxic. In the present time Red is living under police protection and trying to move on without him in her life. I liked Red instantly, but on the down side by a quarter of the way through I was beginning to wonder whether I was actually reading a Peter James book. We don’t even see Roy Grace appear until that point and it was only then that I felt myself feeling much more settled. When a body turns up that is linked to Red Westwood the police aren’t altogether convinced that its anything more than coincidence. However, before too long things continue to get more and more nasty for Red and Roy soon realises that Bryce is a major issue.

Alongside the main storyline (which isn’t necessarily PJs strongest I must say) we see Roy try and prepare for his wedding to Cleo. One of the major pulls with the series in the ongoing drama with his long missing wife (now presumed dead). I was under the impression that this element of the story would be completed by now and was hoping that this book would bring closure to that element as I am tiring of wondering. However, once again we only see the briefest glimpses of what happens, and I was absolutely gutted at how this has once again been left open ended, and maybe open to interpretation by the reader. Although it may seem like it’s all negatives I’m spouting off it really isn’t like that at all. I guess with Peter James you expect perfection every time (so no pressure there Peter), and I tend to be a lot more critical with longer established writers.

Even though there were certain things I didn’t like about this story, there were also some major OMG moments too, and all I can say is “Peter James, how could you have done that”. Major story shocker for one character involved and I thought it was so sad I could have cried (I didn’t though I assure you). Overall the writing style is pure Peter James and flows smoothly, with enough pace to keep you hooked. There were some magical jaw dropping moments proving that Peter James is the King of the Castle when it comes to this genre. I managed to read it in two sittings and although not one of my favourites still a great read. As usual I will wait expectantly all year for the next instalment, and think his fans will be as usual thrilled with the newest release.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Description: Virtual romance becomes a terrifying obsession in Want You Dead...

Single girl, 29, smouldering redhead, love life that's crashed and burned. Seeks new flame to rekindle her fire. Fun, friendship and - who knows - maybe more?

When Red Westwood meets handsome, charming and rich Bryce Laurent through an online dating agency, there is an instant attraction. But as their love blossoms, the truth about his past, and his dark side, begins to emerge. Everything he has told Red about himself turns out to be a tissue of lies, and her infatuation with him gradually turns to terror.

Within a year, and under police protection, she evicts him from her flat and her life. But Red's nightmare is only just beginning. For Bryce is obsessed with her, and he intends to destroy everything and everyone she has ever known and loved - and then her too . . .

Opening:Karl Murphy was a decent and kind man, a family doctor with two small children whom he was bringing up as his own.

Although I love this series, some of the ratings from fellow followers of Roy Grace seem to indicate that they have fallen out of raptures. Is it the Sandi thing? As Louise points out, we would all like to see her out of the picture now and there was ample opportunity to do that via crossbow at the church, dontcha fink? In my mind's eye she rushed in front of the groom right at the crucial moment, sorted.

Yet *le sigh* you missed the chance to rid us all of the albatross, Mr James: sharpen up! I'm not kidding when I say this background Sandi storyline wouldn't even make a soap opera episode.

And...

...how cheesy was it that we ended up at a Firework's factory for 5th November, Guy Fawkes night.*yawn*


The music:

Queen of the Slipstream: Van Morrison
Someone Like You - Van Morrison
Right in Time (Lucinda Williams)
Rod Stewart - "Sailing" (Official Music Video)
Johann Pachelbel - Canon In D Major (Organ Church Version)
Charles Gounod, Faust

I.Had.No.Idea: SpyBubble is really a thing!


4* Dead Simple (Roy Grace, #1)
4* Looking Good Dead (Roy Grace, #2)
4* Not Dead Enough (Roy Grace, #3)
4* Dead Man's Footsteps (Roy Grace, #4)
4* Dead Tomorrow (Roy Grace, #5)
3* Dead Like You (Roy Grace, #6)
3* Dead Man's Grip (Roy Grace, #7)
3* Not Dead Yet (Roy Grace, #8)
4* Dead Man's Time (Roy Grace, #9)
3* Want You Dead
MB You Are Dead (Roy Grace, #11)

3* The Perfect Murder

[✨Susan✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read any other books in this series but still enjoyed this as a stand alone crime thriller. The main character gets deeply involved with a man that is very handsome and extremely volatile, just how deep that goes she had no idea until she has him removed from her apartment. Bizarre events start to happen to people around her and when all things point to her eventual demise a seasoned detective, Roy Grace comes onto the scene.

A good police procedural with a certifiably, deranged psycotic whose past unfolds as the story goes along. Believable and fast moving.

[Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swedish Review

Red Cameron träffar stiliga och charmiga Bryce Laurent via en dejtingsida på nätet, och blir omedelbart attraherad. Men samtidigt som kärleken växer visar sig Bryces mörka sida. Red upptäcker att ingenting Bryce har sagt är sant, och hennes förälskelse förvandlas snart till skräck. 

Hon kastar ut honom ur sin lägenhet, men hennes mardröm har bara börjat. Bryce är besatt av Red och han har för avsikt att förstöra allt och alla i hennes närhet. Och sedan henne. Kriminalintendent Roy Grace måste hindra honom, innan det är försent.

Peter James serie om kriminalintendent Roy Grace är en som jag velat läsa länge och jag var verkligen glad när jag fick chansen att läsa den senaste släppta boken. Detta är en av mina kära mors favoritbokserier så jag anade att jag skulle gilla boken för vi har rätt lik smak.

Trots att detta är bok 10 i serien så var det inga som helst problem att komma in handlingen. Jag har i och för sig fått höra en hel del om Roy och hans saknade fru Sandy från moderskapet när hon läst böckerna så jag visste redan att Roy har i år och dar letat efter sin fru som lämnat honom och nyligen har han fått henne dödsförklarat så han kan gå vidare i livet och gifta om sig med Cleo som han har sonen Noah ihop med.

I vanliga fall så brukar jag inte gilla att veta vem gärningsmannen är utan jag föredrar att försöka lista ut det själv. Men i denna bok så gjorde det absolut inget att jag visste att Bryce Laurent var bakom allting, däremot ville jag verkligen att de skulle sätta dit det svinet och at han skulle få det han förtjänade i slutet. Maken till obehaglig karl får man leta efter. Däremot tyckte jag att Red Cameron trots allting hon utsattes för ändå slogs tillbaka när hon fick chansen. Jag gillar kvinnliga karaktärer som inte låter sig besegras, inte ens av en psykopatisk galning.

En mycket bra bok, jag ser fram emot läsa boken som kommer efter denna för att få se vad som hände härnäst för Roy Grace. Sedan har jag turen att ha tillgång till 9 olästa Roy Grace böcker...  

Tack till Massolit Förlag för recensionsexemplaret! 

English Review

In Peter James' Want You Dead, thirty-year old Red Cameron meets handsome, charming and rich thirty-five year old Bryce Laurent through an online dating agency, and is instantly attracted to him. But as their love blossoms, the truth about his past begins to emerge, and with it his dark side. Everything he has told Red about himself turns out to be a tissue of lies, and her infatuation with him gradually turns to terror.

Within a year, and under police protection, she evicts him from her flat and her life. But far from being over, her nightmare is only just beginning. For Bryce is obsessed and besotted with her. He intends to destroy, by fire, everything and everyone she has ever known and loved—and then her, too. It's up to Detective Superintendent Roy Grace to stop him before it's too late...

I have long wanted to read Peter James series about Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, so I was quite happy when I got the chance to read the least one, despite not having read the previous 9. But, this is one of my dear mother's favorite series and we have almost the same taste in books so I was quite sure I would like the book.

I did not have any problems getting into this series, despite this being the 10th book in a series. I do know a lot of about Roy and his missing wife Sandy (thanks to mom) and that Sandy had left Roy 10 years before and that he has been looking for here since then. Recently he had her declared dead so he could be ale to move on with his life and marry his girlfriend Cleo, mother to his son Noah.

I usually don't like to know the identity of the suspect when I read a book. I prefer to try to figure it out myself, but I didn't mind it a bit when it came to this book. However, I really wanted to police to nail the bastard and that he would get what he deserved in the end. It's hard to find a more unpleasant man. I did like that Red Cameron, despite everything she was put through still fought back when she got the chance. I like female characters that, despite everything that happens still stay strong, especially against psychopathic maniacs.

This was a very good book and I'm looking forward to reading the book that comes after it to find out what will happen next to Roy Grace. I'm also happy that I have nine unread Roy Grace books to read...

Thanks to Massolit Förlag for the review copy!

[Lela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy the Roy Grace series. The characters are very real with depth and description. British police procedurals are my comfort reads which may seem odd as there is often some pretty vicious characters and sadistic killers! This one is no exception as vicious and sadistic easily describe the chased, a rejected obsessive narcissistic lover with a pyromaniac determination to rain down revenge on his former Queen of hearts. He, Bryce. is smart, very technically savvy, has plenty of cash, is an amazing "close" magician, and is full of diabolical plans. He has planted listening and watching devices everywhere so is always a step ahead. The good guy, Roy Grace, is finally about to remarry after years of searching for the wife who disappeared & has now been declared dead. The wedding actually goes off without a hitch but the honeymoon is stopped before they can reach the Gatwick gate. There is a lot of action - some nail-biting, some sad. I would normally have given this 5 stars but the repetition of Bryce's ramblings and readings nearly drove me mad! I get he is an obsessive narcissist but does he have to go over and over and over his vile plans and the texts & spoken words & sex habits of his former lover? Probably that's a personal quibble. It's still a good book with surprises galore and worth reading especially if you are a British PP fan.

[Maria Lavrador · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gostei bastante deste livro. Como é possível uma obsessão ser tão grande, em que se prefere que a pessoa esteja morta a seguir a sua vida, sem ele???? O ser humano é capaz das coisas mais estanhas e doentias que se possa imaginar...

[Joana’s World · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maravilhoso! Retrata bem o que é uma obsessão sem limites e o quanto se pode tornar assustador viver nesta situação.

[Paulo Pires · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3

«Red Westwood está apaixonada, vê a possibilidade de alcançar a felicidade há tanto procurada depois de uma relação repleta de mentiras. Vê um auspicioso futuro ao lado de Karl.

E se de um dia para o outro tudo desabar? Se o paraíso passar a inferno num piscar de olhos?


Uma escrita madura, consistente e apelativa.


O livro começa com o assassinato de Karl, evidênciando desde cedo o culpado, o que faz com que o leitor se foque no porquê?, na gestão emocional das personagens, tal como no sucesso ou insucesso das pretensões do assassino.

É a Roy, e à sua equipa que cabe a investigação deste crime horrendo.


Roy Grace, é um detective que após o desaparecimento da mulher, Sandy, e esta ser dada como morta, encontra-se a preparar o casamento com Cleo, a sua actual companheira. O que desconhece é que a sua mulher não morreu, podendo estar mais próxima do que nunca, e tomando conhecimento do casamento não parece muito disposta a facilitar a vida de Roy.


Aliás Sandy, ao que pude ler (sobre a série) é uma personagem envolta em mistério desde o início da série, cujo desaparecido não deixou muitas pistas. E ao longo dos livros, o autor, vai deixando pequenas pistas sobre a personagem.


Será este mistério que mantém a curiosidade dos fãs viva e que leva a que se teçam várias teorias? Consta-se que um leitor pediu para que o "segredo" de Sandy fosse acautelado e guardado num cofre, para não haver o risco (...)



Ler mais em:
Opinião: Quero-te Morta de Peter James |Livros e Marcadores

[Lιƈíɳια · Rating 4 out of 5]

Livro da série Roy Grace sendo o #10. Infelizmente para mim é só o segundo que leio, porque é muito difícil encontrar livros deste autor. Li o #4 e neste hiato encontro a vida pessoal do detective Grace muito diferente, mas num ponto interessante.
A história fulcral é a de Red e Bryce que já foram um casal. Red descobriu que afinal Bryce não era quem dizia ser e terminou o relacionamento que tinha sido baseado em mentiras. Mas Bryce não aceitou o fim e torna-se obsessivo, começa a persegui-la com a determinação de acabar com todos que com ela se relacionam e com tudo seja importante para ela...e por fim também "acabar" com Red . O que nos leva a reflectir sobre o que a mente do ser humano é capaz.

[Maria João (A Biblioteca da João) · Rating 5 out of 5]

9 de 10*

Assustador. Desde a primeira página que esta ideia não me saiu da cabeça: Assustador! A mente humana e a capacidade de provocar dor e coagir o próximo, apenas por vingança é algo aterrorizador. Mais aterrorizador ainda é saber que se baseou em factos veridicos, como é o caso desta história.

Comentário completo em:
http://abibliotecadajoao.blogspot.pt/...

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Number 10 in the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series - brilliant!
Red Westwood, a young woman living in Brighton UK has no luck with men so when she meets Bryce Laurent via internet dating she can't believe her luck - he is charming, sexy and attentive, showering her with gifts.
Unfortunately things start to go wrong as he starts to reveal he is actually a violent psycho who has sold her a pack of lies.
She finally plucks up the courage to leave him and after 4 months starts thinking he has taken it remarkably well??!!
Wrong!!!
The book mainly follows Bryce's sick and deadly plot for revenge.
Meanwhile, Roy is due to get married to Cleo, Norman is seeing Bella and Glenn is growing in confidence in his new position - there is much more going on in these sub-plots but don't want to give away any spoilers!
I love this series and this book did not disappoint.
I am a teensy bit biased as it is set in a town I know very well but still it is a brilliant detective novel with a good balance between the lives of the policemen personally and the crime investigation / main narrative.

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

These books used to be great didn't they...and now it all feels like a soap opera,I swear we were half way through the book before any detecting happened.
Maybe I'm just not keen on knowing who did it (never bothered me with secret history though, loved that) BUT the insanee ramblings of Bryce, and the ridiculous insistence of Red to carry on acting like normal, even after being kidnapped and shot at,just aren't doing anything for me.
Killing a member of the team off felt like ticking a box, and frankly I'd run Sandy over given the chance, what's the point of her?
I do like the characters though, and the setting, such a shame, think the next one might be last one I rread

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've tried doing this review without spoilers, hence no character names other than Grace, but certain things needed explaining and couldn't be done with limitations. I've still tried to be vague but there are definitely spoilers ahead.


The Roy Grace series is one of my favourites. It has its flaws but on the whole it's a good crime series that keeps me hooked. For various reasons, some just personal preference, this one is easily my least favourite of the 10 I've read.

The crime itself, obsessive ex wants revenge for being dumped, isn't a trope I'm a fan of anyway. But it can be done well if the characters are good enough. But the girlfriend was moronic to the point of annoyance, and the boyfriend was as believable as my cat replying to me in English.

I'll elaborate. I get it that people all handle stress differently but when you're clearly in danger and the police have offered to help why in the world would you go out of your way to make things easier to put yourself back in danger? I suppose to answer this I need to quote a favourite comedic Youtuber of mine, "So the plot can take place"

As for the boyfriend. What couldn't he do? He's got to be the most versatile character I've ever encountered. And while I know that unrealistic things need to occur to make the plot more interesting but this is still a book rooted in reality and it got to the point of ridiculousness.

But it wasn't just the characters. There was writing choices made that had me baffled or frustrated. The story of how the afore mentioned characters met, details of things that had happened. Repeated time after time, after time, after time. And the way he could hear every word she said, regardless of where she was. I had a theory for this but it was never explained. And the txts (which went on far too long) which read like they came from an overly hormonal 14 year old. No resolution. Again I have a theory but we were never actually told flat out where they came from.

And the ending. Rushed. So rushed, almost like Peter James needed a conclusion that meant he didn't need to come back to any of the threads in the plot.

But the biggest eye roller has to involve Roy Grace himself. Or more accurately, didn't. I'm not sure which book it was but recently we had been dealt a HUGE bombshell regarding his personal life. And as far as I can recall the mystery behind the revelation hadn't been revealed to anyone. Well in this book we, the reader, were just flat out told in what felt like a throwaway line. No dramatic reveal, no using it in the plot, it was just told to us as casually as if I told you Tuesday follows Monday.

Believe it or not there were some positives.

There was developments in Roy Grace's life, both personally and professionally. How things will play out is enough to have me pick up book 11, but not immediately.

Once we finally got to follow Grace and the team the book flowed better, seeing he and the team piece clues together was as enjoyable as ever, and I moved through it at a much quicker pace. But it took 35% to get to that point. I'm all for setting up a story but I was getting to the point where I'd had enough before Grace made much of an impact at all.

2.5/5

[Tim Costain · Rating 1 out of 5]

So I picked this up after being an avid fan of British, more specifically Scottish, and Northern Irish crime fiction for years.... What a mistake. This is easily one of the worst, if not the single worst crime fiction novel I’ve ever read. Let’s count the ways shall we. Lazy, clunky, cliched writing, check. An omnipotent super villain who’s an expert at everything he tries check. Arson, crossbow shooting, magic, technology etc... a plucky heroine/ damsel in distress who acts so irrationally and unrealistically, that you don’t give a you know what about her fate by the end of the book. The melodramatic soap opera flourishes. The extreme abuse of exclamation marks. The absurd Martin Amis esque character names. Bryce Laurent, Red Westwood, Juilius Proudfoot, Cassian Pewe, Guy Batchelor.... not to mention the stomach roiling sexts between Red and Bryce when they were together. Last but not least, the Sandy issue. I realize this isn’t really a review at all, it’s a rant. However I guess my primary question for Peter James fans out there is this. Is he always this cheesy?, or are the earlier entries in the Roy Grace series much stronger? And if they aren’t, how in the heck has he sold 15 million copies of his books? I picked this up at Powell’s books, the garish bright yellow spine caught my attention. I should have took it as a warning and stayed far, far away.

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roy Grace book No. 10: It's bad enough having a stalker, but even worse if he's rich, military trained, a security specialist and a magician! I kid you not. This heart wrenching Roy Grace case is a fast paced tour-de-force of drama, pain and some joy! 8 out of 12.

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was so much wrong with this book.

I wouldn't say it was the very worst Peter James novel I've read - that still goes to his incomprehensibly bad Possession - but it is so cliched, so melodramatic, and so laughably stupid that I cannot imagine anyone but a besotted fan not hating it. I already thought I might be in for a rough ride, since police/detective fiction really isn't my kind of thing. Also, as previously hinted at, my history of reading James is not a wonderfully positive one. Some of his standalones look okay, and I mostly enjoyed Alchemist and Denial. However, along with hating Possession, I thought Host was a mediocre thriller that far overstayed its welcome. I guess I think of Peter James as the modern British thriller's equivalent to James Herbert, perhaps only a little better and more diverse.

The story is a very typical "jilted ex goes after his former partner" affair. Even the tagline on the front cover - "If he can't have her, nobody can" - makes you want to groan for the sheer unoriginality of it. And really, despite a few colourful scenes and, to be fair, the very occasional moment of real suspense or satisfaction, this whole thing is so formulaic that I'd rather just list the main issues that come to mind, rather than pen a more thoughtful review.

So then, things I hated ...

1. Roy Grace, the long-running protagonist, is a boring shell of emptiness. While I have formerly complained that in these kinds of stories, the detective always happens to be a brooding alcoholic with a troubled past, I found Grace's general perfection just as boring. James just wants him to be everything. He's a buff, no-nonsense kind of guy. He doesn't let people push him around, which really is a waste of a trait because everyone seems to adore him anyway, barring the awful Cassian Pewe, whose sole purpose in the story is to be an utter arsehole. I hate how Grace is just so perfect: Mr "Always pleasure women in bed before himself". Mr "Works his arse off all day, every day, and yet has the energy to come home and father his new baby, without an ounce of tension darkening his married life". I sound like some prick who is upset, as if I can't pleasure women and happen to be a terrible father to boot. Please believe me, that is not it. (At least, that is what my so-called wife told me before disappearing with our child and her limbless lover down at the clinic for an adulterous future I'm sure is just full of regret). I just find the overly flowery presentation of every aspect of Roy Grace's life to be quite grating. Guy has a golden asshole and his semen, if taken in sufficient quantity, would probably cure Alzheimer's and dementia and whatever else the general audience of this boring airport wordsmith worry about on a daily basis.

2. The villain, Bryce Laurent, is even worse. Oh my God, he's just the epitome of evil. An absolute mastermind in villainy, and somehow despite never being able to hold down a job and basing his entire facade on bullshit made-up stories, he seems to get around with an infinite supply of money, specialist skills, and precognitive sense. He's omnipresent throughout the whole thing, listening in on every single conversation on or off the phone his hunted ex-girlfriend has. He finds her and gets into securely locked hideout properties without any explanation for the reader's benefit, if you please. And then you have the personality and the Disney-villain way in which all he does is wriggle his fingers, expounding devilishly for the reader's benefit how he's going to make her sorry, oooooh, just you wait, Red, have I got a present for you ... you and your BITCH mother, and your PATHETIC father ... oh, Red, we could have been so good together ... now, I've got a little surprise for you ... tick-tock, babe ... oh, Red, you and me ... you always said you liked me when I was spontaneous, oooohhhh, well I'll show you spontaneous ... I'm spontaneous like a fox, a fox with blood dripping off his fangs ... mmmmmm, I can't wait to taste you again, Red ... I might just eat you right up, starting with your heart, just like you devoured mine and then just spat it out ... don't worry, babe, I know you didn't mean in, but I can make everything right in the count of three, two, one ... well, I won't spoil the surprise for you, Red. You always liked surprises, oh Red ...

He goes on like this for many pages. Apart from killing Red's new boyfriend at the start in what manages to be a somewhat disturbing scene, this is his character. He just happens to be one step ahead of the good guys no matter what happens, and instead of seeing how he pulls off his dastardly plans against his ex, we just get see him tittering ambiguously beforehand, followed by a drawn-out, I-really-don't-give-a-good-damn sequence in which Red and her police protectors somehow pull through.

I also found it beyond ludicrous how Red managed to fall so obsessively in love with this prattling fuckwad in the first place. Sure, we are told this, and we have to endure page after page of her teenage level text messages - a word pornography of cliches and kisses - but I never once bought the idea that this normal girl ever fell for the guy. He's a fucking unstable nutcase, and we only ever see this side of him. Given his reasons for being the way he is, there is no explanation of how he managed to temporarily suppress his evilness enough for Red to fall madly in love with him and not see him for what he is. The power of a massive penis, I suppose. You can excuse almost anything in the dude, so long as he makes a good fuck. Thanks for the tip, James. Toxic-behaviour-excusing females, here I come!

3. On to the subject of the reasons behind Bryce's evil. It's really just the same old chestnut certain writers love resorting to. His mother used to force him to have sex with her. That's it. Wonderful! On with the show, folks. I mean, I just love the deductive logic of it all. Mum fucks you, you're the next Jack the Ripper, except you seem able to live a normal and indeed a good life until some random thot gives you the cold shoulder. It's just not good enough. By all means, incestual rape is a fucking disgusting evil to inflict on your child. But I actually find it incredibly psychologically lazy, and even a little offensive, that this is sufficient reason for the victim to become an absolute cold-blooded killer - and yet, at the same time, retain a perfectly normal and even charming persona up until the stupid novel choose to happen.
In truth, I suspect James didn't give one shit about why his villain was so evil and deranged, and yet also such a capable and resourceful guy in order to pose any threat. He just wanted to throw in a quick flashback in which he could describe, with obscene detail, a mother and her boy having sex, in order to push the edgelord envelope and shock all his golf club mates. And if anyone ever actually pulled him up and said: "What the actual fuck, you disgusting bastard? What if your grandchildren read this filth?" his rejoinder would be that he just wanted to establish what made the guy go rotten. Lazy character development, and gratuitously explicit writing for the mere sake of being gross. James actually does do shit like this quite often - Denial likewise had a mother/child incest scene - and I suspect there might be something more going on there.

4. While it is not really the writer's fault, the narrator for the audio version I listened to was painful whenever he tried to read the female parts. By effecting a wispy, high-pitched voice, he just made it sound like all the women were constantly on the verge of tears. Even for Red, the victim of Bryce's murderous stalking, it was not as understandable as it was irritating. Rather than making her seem more pathetic, I think it just highlighted the intrinsic patheticness of her character in the first place.

There are various other things I had meant to include. Such as having to read through a detailed wedding sequence, discover it was just a dream, and then read through it all again, with the exact same details, as if Grace had literally seen the future or some canon-fucking rubbish. Apparently precognitive dreams are real, are lucid, and are yet another thing Mr Grace is well adept at.

But this book has taken enough of my precious time already. Time, as the Goodreads saying goes, that I will never get back. #NeverAgain#HowDareHe#HowDareI.
Now I will get back to inventing the cure for all cancers, as well as discovering the hidden mathematical formula that proves the existence of God.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best most additive read I have had in a long time. It is Peter James at the top of his game. There has not been a bad book in this series however this one is stand out. It has everything making you believe you are the characters you feel their love, you feel there pain.

From the start the murders begin only covered to most eyes as suicide. Red does not believe it is neither does Grace. Red is such a likeable character who you can totally root for. She had found a new love after her last disastrous online date. Apart from he is out to kill, out to kill her and everything she loves. He loves a fire or two or three plus.

Byrce is an horrific character but so thrilling and chilling to read about. He totally got what he deserved in the end. I was hoping he got the justice he deserved in prison by the fellow inmates. They could not have picked a nicer person.

So much happened in this book with Norman getting so much more and Bella. Poor Bella. Poor Norman and the others left behind.

In terms of Roy you continue to read about him being father to Noah and his wedding to Cleo. The wedding dream or nightmare before was fantastic. Once again I wanted to know so much more about Sandy. It is so wrong to be rooting for her over Cleo in a way but I cannot help it. I loved how on the second time coming honeymoon Roy cut his phone call, he did answer it but cut it short. Cleo's I have never seen you do that before for the reply to be I have never been on honeymoon with you before.

The last standout moment from a book full of standout moments I will have missed something or not wanted to give everything away. Cassian Pewe is back the rival the slight villain to the police force that makes a fantastic read. Is he playing a game of keep your friends close but your "enemies" closer?

Standout out book with not a bad element. 100/5 stars

[Rob Twinem · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend that if reading a crime series you should not attempt to read the complete series in one sitting. I have dipped in and out of this excellent Roy Grace/Peter James stories over the last few years and have felt the better for it. This latest 10 in the series is a fast and brilliant read with Roy Grace pitted against the evil Bryce Laurent and his attempts to kill his old flame Red Westwood. We meet and become familiar again with Roy's colleagues.....DI Glenn Branson, DS Bella Moy, Norman Potting, Guy Bachelor. Add to this mix the re emergence of Roy's ex "dead" wife Sandy on Roy's wedding day and a very personal unexpected death then we have the recipie for a brilliant and great addition to this great crime series....I look forward to book 11 :)

[Evalunasylva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenho pena que tenham saltado vários volumes e assim ter-se perdido um pouco o rumo da história do Roy Grace e da Sandy... de resto, é Peter James! Gostei muito!

[Jan Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping

Excellent read. Plenty of twists and turns as usual, leading to an ending I wasnt quite expecting. Peter James never disappoints me.

[3 no 7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Want You Dead” by Peter James is number ten in the Roy Grace series. New readers will be able to follow because most needed background information is included as part of the narrative. The book follows two basic story lines; the first involves Red Cameron who meets Bryce Laurent through an online dating agency. The relationship takes a nasty turn, and Bryce becomes so possessive and violent that Red turns to the police for protection.

Red has not been able to distance herself from the insidious influence of Bryce despite multiple moves and evasive strategies. Following a fiery death on a golf course, the Red/Bryce connection starts to take shape, and Detective Superintendent Roy Grace and his team take the case. The attacks are calculated and executed with precision. The team must stop Bryce before it is too late. Chapters alternate between points of view so readers understand both her trauma and his dark disturbance as he utilizes fire to destroy everything Red has and everyone she has known.

The second story line is the continuing saga of Grace’s missing wife, Sandy. After all these years, he has had her declared legally dead so that he can marry Cleo, the mother of his infant son. In true soap opera fashion, (we know, of course from previous books that she is not dead) The story moves to her point of view as she discovers his approaching marriage through an announcement in the newspaper and sets out on her own journey. You just know this is not going to turn out well. It does not, and with yet another twist, the story is not quite finished. (We should know that after ten books!)

I have enjoyed the entire series by Peter James, although I have liked some more that this one. The writing style flows smoothly and at an appropriate pace. I had mixed feelings over the portrayal of Red because sometimes she was depicted as almost complicit in the whole Bryce relationship. Of course, Bryce was certainly dark, harsh, destructive, and most certainly not a reliable narrator.
If this is your first Roy Grace novel, be sure to read some of the previous ones as well. Start with the first “Dead Simple.” It is still my favorite.

[Jill's Book Cafe · Rating 3 out of 5]

As we are now in the grip (or not) of the World Cup, I would say in football parlance that for me, this book represented a game of two halves. Despite being a Peter James fan, and having read all of the previous Roy Grace novels, I found this not to be one of his best.

I found the shift away from Grace and his team as fairly prominent characters to almost bit players a negative move. It might have worked for me had I been taken with the main plot and the featured characters of Red and her sociopathic stalker ex, Bryant. As it was in the first half I found the plot too bogged down with repetitive detail, revealed via the counselling sessions with her therapist. I wasn't sympathetic to the character of Red, far from seeing her as a strong, independent character refusing to be a victim, I found her to be quite naive, if not stupid in her actions. For example, what female estate agent (given real life events) would deliberately falsify contact details in her work diary, before going to meet a client, a complete stranger, in an empty property. - especially when she knows her ex is a threat.

I was more engaged when the plot concentrated on Grace, his forthcoming nuptials to Cleo, and the team that we have come to know and in most cases love. Inevitably Sandy does make an appearance, though whether that story resolves itself I can't say. For me the novels are as much about their stories as the crimes they are investigating. The team come more into play once the plot becomes more focused on Bryant as a suspect, rather than what he intends to do and why.

Reading this review back, it feels very negative, but given how much I've enjoyed the others, it is my attempt to explain why I didn't like this as much. Peter James is a terrific writer, and this is not a bad book, it has all the drama, tension and shocks that you want from a good thriller, it just didn't do it for me, like some of his others. I'll still be waiting for news of the next one to see how things progress for Grace and his team.

I received my ebook via Netgalley in return for an honest review.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Firstly I should point out that although 'Want You Dead' is the tenth book featuring the detective Roy Grace I have read this as a one off rather than working my way through the series. As such I cannot really comment as to whether or not this is better or worse than those that have gone before.

The book opens with a pretty graphic description of the torture and murder of Brighton GP Karl Murphy. It takes a while for young estate agent Red Westwood, who has been dating Karl, and hence the police, to realise what we as a reader already knows, that she is being stalked by her violent ex-boyfriend Bryce Laurent.

Despite the book opening in a blaze I found the first half of the story a bit of a slow burner, not helped by a rash of 'had he but known' lines at the end of chapters which made any sense of tension that had preceded it feel artificial as if even the author didn't really believe in what he was writing. The second half did pick up but for me the damage had already been done, I was left feeling that it too contrived and overly long. The inclusion of Roy Grace's upcoming nuptials seemed pretty pointless as well.

Whilst I found Red a generally feisty and likeable character I didn't find her particularly believable, the less said about the implausible Super-human, multi-skilled, elusive villain with a liking of setting fires is probably for the better. The texts that were supposedly sent between the two when they were in a relationship were pretty laughable. I mean I know this is Brighton but really does everyone living there have names like Red, Bryce and Raquel and are either having fabulous, mind-blowing sex or are divorced/ widowed? Come on!

As I said at the beginning of this review I read this book as a one off and in that regard it just didn't work for me but cannot say whether or not that this is because it is better or worse that the author's usual output. It certainly won't make me rush out and seek any others but at least it was a relatively quick read.

[Mieke Schepens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter James heeft me wederom niet teleurgesteld met deze knappe thriller. De wisselende perspectieven geven je een goed inzicht in de karakters van de hoofdpersonen. Het angstaanjagende gevoel dat de stalker je geeft blijft het hele verhaal bij je. Wat een eng persoon is dit!

Ondanks dat het al het tiende deel is in de serie rondom Roy Grace is dit boek zonder problemen als stand-alone te lezen. Alle personages worden duidelijk beschreven en leveren geen verrassingen op als dusdanig. Het verhaal leest mede hierdoor lekker vlot.
Een verrassing is wel wanneer een personage op komt dagen waar je het niet van verwacht had en waarvan je aan het eind van het boek ook niet weet of je deze niet nog een keer tegen zult komen in een vervolg. IJzersterk van de auteur!

Het is geen snelle thriller, maar een langzaam opgebouwde sterke thriller die je doe huiveren.
Dat een mens zo gestoord kan zijn dat wanneer zijn/haar liefde niet beantwoord wordt er zo veel haat naar boven komt, wordt in dit verhaal duidelijk gemaakt. Bovendien zijn de hulpmiddelen tegenwoordig inderdaad aanwezig:
'Haar telefoon afluisteren was simpel geweest. Het softwareprogrammaatje, SpyBubble, dat hij op internet had gekocht en stiekem op haar mobiele telefoon had geïnstalleerd, stelde hem in staat om al haar gesprekken af te luisteren, ongeacht waar ze was… en – heel belangrijk – dankzij de gps wist hij altijd precies waar ze was.'
Zoiets bestaat inderdaad en dat maakt het verhaal nog angstaanjagender!

Een ijzersterke, rustige maar angstaanjagende thriller van Peter James. Ik ben benieuwd hoe het verder gaat met de personages, ook die op de achtergrond, en kijk uit naar het vervolg.

[Nick Davies · Rating 2 out of 5]

This, surprisingly, was a disappointment. I've read most of the previous books in the Roy Grace series, and have enjoyed many of them, but this just fell very short in several ways. I don't think Peter James has 'lost it' - I just felt that perhaps it gets more and more difficult to maintain a certain standard, keep things fresh, with a long series featuring the same characters. This for me hit a few too many bum notes.

The main plot of this novel concerns a woman being stalked by her ex-boyfriend, who seems to want to set fire to everyone and everything that comes close to her. The Brighton CID team try and solve the mystery, there are red herrings, a race against time, plus a load of the slightly soap-opera relationship things between police characters we've got to know during previous books. I felt the plot was weak - it reminded me too much of the sillier efforts by Dean Koontz and the like with a damsel in distress, and a baddie with seemingly unlimited resources of time, money and physical/mental ability. Unconvincing. I also didn't warm to the woman under threat either, hence I didn't really care if she didn't escape.

The longer/ongoing storylines didn't work for me either. I don't care about Grace's estranged wife, I'm super bored about hearing a few chapters about her, and the romances between main characters wasn't interesting or convincing for me either. These little annoyances, a weaker story than usual, it ended up feeling all felt a bit formulaic and tired.

[Eglė Eglė · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turbūt pradeda ši serija man po truputį atsibosti. Nors žūt būt noriu ją užbaigti. Viskas vyksta per daug viena linija. Jei Robertas (Chris Carter) traukia mane kaip paslaptinga asmenybė, o knygos kupinos tokių baisių scenų, kad net pačiai baisu, jog mane tai taip veža ; Hūlė (Nesbo) vis stebino savo pakilimais ir nuopoliais, kovomis su vidiniais demonais ir išskirtiniais siužetais ; Rikoli su Ailz (Tess) - domino puikus detektyvės ir "mirusiųjų karalienės" komandinis darbas, lengvai skaitomos ir įtraukiančios istorijos (mano mėgstamiausios trys serijos), tai čia, šiuo metu, negalėčiau išskirti nieko. Negaliu sakyti, kad serija bloga, tikrai ne, tiesiog ši knyga man patiko mažiausiai. Ex vaikino personažas manęs neįtikino, o ir Rojų kartais norėtųsi išvysti kitomis spalvomis.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one got a little tedious with Bryce's constant psychotic musings on how he was going to torture Red both physically and psychologically. It just seemed annoying for me rather than suspenseful. And at this point I am completely ignoring the Sandy subplot since that one is way past its expiration date. Hopefully the car hitting her is her plot expiration date. Luckily the last 20 or so chapters really picked up the suspense and pace giving this book an overall solid 4 Star rating.